5 Important Elements Of Writing A Good Story
5 Things To Keep In Mind When Telling Your Story.
- An Inspired Idea.
What are you inspired to write about? A lot of people write stories based on their personal experiences, or at least very loosely inspired by something that has actually happened to them. However, some stories do come purely from their imagination. Inspiration can come from so many different places; a song, a location, a person, etc. Sometimes when you’re not even trying to think of a story idea, an idea will just come to you. Therefore, it’s helpful to always be near pen and paper to write your ideas down. Or, if only your phone is nearby, you can always send yourself a text message with your ideas. The idea that initially comes to you will probably be the premise, or some of the characters, or some of the plot points, or a combination thereof. Once you have that initial starting point, the other elements of the story can be created and developed to work with what you’ve already thought of.
2. An Interesting Premise.
The premise is what your story is about. The big picture. The main idea. The quick sentence or two that you tell a friend when they ask about the story. Many stories have the same or similar premise. However, if your characters and your plot are well developed and have some unique elements to them, then your story can stand out from similar stories.
3. Well Developed Characters.
Character development is one of the most important parts of the writing process. The characters should feel like real people with real flaws, not perfect people that nobody can relate to. Each of the main characters should also have a very detailed background that the writer has created for them. The background information should include; age, race/ethnicity, gender, religious affiliations, physical looks, career/job, marital/dating status, family relationships, strengths, weaknesses, flaws, secrets, what they want most? What or who is standing in their way of getting what they want? Why would the audience care about them and their desires and their challenges?, etc. Audiences usually prefer characters that they can really connect with because they can easily see themselves or someone they know in that character. Or characters that they can’t initially relate to at all, but because the writer wrote this particular character with such a great understanding for this type of person, the audience now feels a connection to them through a common trait that they wouldn’t have known about if the character wasn’t well developed. For example; if the protagonist of the story is a middle school bully who is only shown as a bully who is mean to the other kids for no reason at all, that character wouldn’t be very well developed and would probably connect better to the audience if it is shown why the bully is so mean. For example; if it is shown that the bully only behaves badly for attention because they are ignored at home, and the only time when they’re not treated like they’re invisible is when they’re getting into trouble at school. A lot of people have probably felt ignored at some point, and then tried to get attention in the wrong way. Developing the character now makes them much more relatable. All main characters are important to develop. However, the most important character in your story is usually your protagonist. Who is your protagonist? What does your protagonist want? How will the protagonist be changed? These are all questions that should be answered while developing your characters.
4. A Unique Plot.
The plot is what happens in the story. How it happens and why it happens. All of the actions, events, and details that come together to (hopefully) make your story unlike all of the other stories.
5. Proper Story Structure.
Usually a story will be structured with a clear beginning, middle, and ending. In the beginning, the scenario and characters are introduced. In the middle, the conflict builds. In the end, the conflict is resolved. There are some writers who can creatively tell their story in a non-linear way where the beginning, middle, and ending are not always in that order. One example of non-linear storytelling is the TV show “This Is Us” which shows the main characters in the present day, as well as both flashbacks of the past, and flashforwards of the future. Another example of non-linear storytelling are stories that involve time travel. However, most stories use the more traditional linear storytelling model. For example; Once upon a time there was a protagonist who wanted something (beginning), there was a challenge in the way of the protagonist getting what they wanted (middle), the protagonist overcame their challenge and then they all lived happily ever after (ending).
